One of my favorite feeder visitors is the white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). I should probably qualify that description by admitting that any bird that visits my home is a “favorite bird” ...

It's that little bird that often climbs down the trunk of the tree head first. The only bird that is able to do so, it is the nuthatch's foot structure that makes this behavior possible. It has two ...

What is with that crazy bird? Why does he just climb down the tree then fly to the top and then climb down again? It is a nuthatch. It’s habit of hopping headfirst down tree trunks helps it see ...

Back in 2004, in what now seems like another life, I had a memorable experience on my way to work. Walking east along Wacker Drive, I noticed what looked like a leaf floating toward the sidewalk. It ...

The white-breasted nuthatch is a familiar bird to many feeders in our region. This small songbird is snowy white below and wears a coat of slate-blue above. A bold black stripe caps its head and neck.

Hidden behind the needled boughs of a spruce tree that rises from my yard, a group of nuthatches was having an animated conversation. It seemed early in the day to engage in such lively chatter, but ...

My morning routine for feeding backyard birds includes spreading bark butter on a pine tree while an impatient white-breasted nuthatch utters a high-pitched nasal call, sounding like “thank, thank.” ...

The white-breasted nuthatch is often observed walking and probing head-down on the trunks of large conifers in mature wooded areas. The first impression is a small bird with a very white head and ...